A group of Lubbock leaders is working to get more fans in the stands for Texas Tech’s football games, and get the whole community to show more spirit.

The grassroots organization that set out to boost Lubbock economic development by increasing Tech’s football fan base in the mid-1990s has tweaked its approach. This time, it’s pushing season ticket sales.

Who and why

Danny Koch, an original member of the group, said the Committee For Champions started in 1994 to boost economic development. Koch, a member of the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors at the time, said Lubbock leaders were trying to get a sales tax passed for the city.

“We got to thinking, ‘Well, if we can’t get a sales tax, what can we do to make Lubbock compete against Amarillo, Midland and Odessa?’ ” Koch said. “ ‘Texas Tech athletics will move the economy.’ ”

The group of business and community leaders set out to grow Tech football’s fan base, sell football tickets and enhance Tech’s brand. In turn, they knew Lubbock would benefit economically by bringing more money into hotels, restaurants and retail shops during game weekends.

The original Committee For Champions disbanded because it was successful, Koch said.

In 1999 Tech set a record for football attendance, he said.

“Our success really elevated us, and we just got away from having to do it,” he said. “Tech’s success on the football field with coach (Mike) Leach was very successful, and there was less of a need for us. The seed we had planted had taken off.”

David Langston was mayor at the time and said he got involved because he believes in a close relationship between city and university. They mutually depend on one another, he said.

Encouraging businesses to fly flags and allowing employees to wear red and black on game day created synergy and brought people to Lubbock restaurants, bars, hotels and retail shops, the local attorney said.

Reformed

The Committee For Champions began meeting again in January, Koch said.

Langston said he has participated in a few meetings since the group reorganized.

“I think its a great time to bring it back,” Langston said. “With the changes that have occurred over at Texas Tech and within the sports department in the last several years, I think it’s important to get the community back involved and back understanding that, ‘This is the Raider Nation, and we’ve got to go support Texas Tech athletics and just make it a fun place to be on a Texas Tech game day.’ That’s the whole idea, and to get the city government working together with the Tech administration and with the athletic department to create that mutual support and cooperation we had before.”

Hocutt said he learned of the committee’s past work not long after arriving at Tech in spring 2011. The timing seemed to align with other initiatives the athletic program was talking about, he said.

“Why not now? Any time you go through a change in leadership, and a new athletic director comes into the program, I think it provides an opportunity to step back and reassess everything,” Hocutt said. “As we looked at the opportunity to continue to grow our attendance, as we look at the opportunity to align ourselves with Lubbock and the West Texas community, it seemed like the right time. It seemed like the natural time to restart the Committee For Champions.”

The organization remains a grassroots group of business and community leaders with no bylaws and no dues, Koch said.

The Lubbock Chamber of Commerce continues to have an active role.

Tim Collins, chamber chairman, said the organization has helped facilitate recent meetings. He hopes the work done by the group will keep the athletic department fresh and people excited.

“I think we have such a great time at athletic events, and they also are a very important driver (for) business in Lubbock,” Collins said. “College game days are huge for merchants. ... The athletic department and their activities drive business to Lubbock and bring visitors in.”

Ticket sales

For the 2012 football season, the group aims to boost season ticket sales by more than 6,000 tickets. The goal is to sell 36,000, Koch said. If 6,000 more people are in the stands every game, it helps the team, Koch said.

And it’s important to make season tickets affordable, Hocutt said.

The Committee For Champions is working with local businesses to offer season tickets to employees at a discounted price.

Koch works in the employees benefits field of health insurance and thought it made sense to offer companies deals on season football tickets, similar to health insurance.

If employers buy 20 or more season tickets, they receive a 20 percent discount. This process makes it more affordable because the tickets are paid for with a payroll deduction, and businesses can opt to give employees several months to pay.

“What we’re finding with that is ... who goes to Texas Tech football games? Affluent business leaders and those with affluence,” Koch said. “What about the guy who makes $20,000 and has kids and they want to go to a game? They have as much passion as (the affluent). ... It gets more families with kids and grandkids to go to the games.”

Hocutt said he feels fortunate the business community has stepped up in support of the Red Raiders. There were no significant increases on prices for season tickets this year, and multiple sections decreased in price, he said.

Last year, 30,000 general public season tickets were sold, and 98 percent of those season ticket holders renewed this year, Hocutt said.

“Our goal is 36,000, which is a 20 percent increase in season ticket sales from last year,” Hocutt said. “That would ensure that we have a full capacity for each of the home football games, providing tremendous home-field advantage.”

So far, season ticket sales are about 3,000 ahead of what they were this time last year, Hocutt said, totaling just under 30,000. But there’s still time, Hocutt said. August is the most important month for sales as football season grows closer.

More in the works

The Committee For Champions has other initiatives.

Hocutt said the Red Raider Club kickoff luncheon will be hosted Aug. 16. Head football coach Tommy Tuberville will speak and fans can meet the team. For the first time, kickoff luncheons also are being hosted in Midland, Dallas and Houston.

Another initiative, called “painting the town red and black,” began in the ’90s under Lubbock business owner Steve Massengale’s leadership.

The group asked businesses to support the effort by wearing red and black and flying flags in front of their businesses on Fridays and Saturdays of game day weekends, he said.

Massengale recalled the committee meetings starting with 10 or 20 people and growing to between 50 and 100.

“The original intent back when we started the Committee For Champions was to help the athletic department transition from the Southwest Conference to the Big 12,” Massengale said. “It’s interesting that trying to reorganize the Committee For Champions is a lot like when we did it before because the dynamics of the Big 12 have changed. ... It’s almost like we’re working on another transition to another new conference. I do think it’s important to be doing this again.”

The committee is expanding the effort to encourage Tech flags at homes and on cars as well, Koch said. The group also is exploring the possibility of putting out Tech flags at the airport, so Red Raider fans see them when they arrive in the Hub City.

Koch said the committee also is encouraging local businesses to wear red and black on Fridays before games.

“What we really want to do is encourage every business to step up, to do something in a unique way to benefit Tech athletics,” Koch said. “... (We want to show that) people really support Tech. We want to knock their socks off. We want to make Lubbock the most festive city in the Big 12 in every football game.”

Creating themes for some of the football games has been a new initiative for the group, Koch said.

To comment on this story:

brittany.hoover@lubbockonline.com • 766-8722

leesha.faulkner@lubbockonline.com • 766-8706

Committee For Champions meetings

■ When: 11:15 a.m. Sept. 18, Oct. 23, Nov. 13, Dec. 11.

■ Where: Texas Tech Club, Suite Level 5.

■ Info: For more information about the Committee For Champions initiatives, meetings or how to get your business season tickets, call the Red Raider Club at 742-1196. For more information on the Texas Tech football schedule or tickets, visit texastech.com.

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Here are some helpful suggestions for the committee to try to get more people at the games:
1) Have the coach stop whining in public about wanting not to be held accountable for performance until he has four classes of his recruits since he took over a winning program with a proven record;
2) Try to win a conference home game;
3) Strive to finish above ninth place in the league;
4) Have the coach actually work with the team in Fridays before games instead of attending high school games;
5) Enter all season ticket holders in a lottery to be TTU's next president since anyone can do the job of standing up next to Hance and saying "yes sir, you are absolutely right sir";
6) Give away shares in TS Investments to all season ticket holders;
7) Free beer for anyone who hangs around until the 4th quarter;
8) Allow minor offenders to serve their probation and community service by atttending TTU football games;
9) Have Tubby yell "war eagle" during the national anthem:
10) Two words- press gangs.

Seriously, has the Hoover sucked up all logic and reason? So long as Texas Tech University takes the position that Mike Leach jeopardized a player's health and safety then you know a significant part of the fan base, if that fan base has any integrity, will provide little support. This is what separates today from the mid-1990's.

What happened at Tech with Leach was ground-breaking, literally. For the local leaders, including Langston, to believe today is like that time period is not realistic. It would actually help Tech and Lubbock if local leaders stood up to the tea bag nuts that are running the show.

Tech could easily boost tickets if it came out publicly and said, Mike Leach will be paid for his entire 2009 salary and bonus, and any bowl incentives. Tech could do that without materially affecting its current litigation with Leach. By using lawyers and BS to not pay Leach even a red cent for his 2009 salary, even though he was fired in December, is so obnoxious that it makes most Tech fans want to stuff whatever dollars are left over down Hance's throat, much less sign up for football attendance.

For an entire article in the Lubbock paper to avoid this reality is telling. The world is truly turned upside down when reason and logic are put aside to kiss the butt of a lawyer-lobbyist-politician like Hance. If Tech keeps taking money in exchange for morals, our red might as well be laced, and the AJ folks deserve the cold of Dante's inner circle.

...and send their high school educated minions to come here and complain.

Maybe if they had college degrees they would be able to a) let things go that happened 3 years ago, and b) understand that when a coach is abusive and insubordinate he gets fired regardless of how many games he wins.

The funny thing is that the former coach wasn't even that great a coach to begin with. He was only .500 in conference half of his 10 seasons and puffed up his record by scheduling the easiest non-conference schedule in the country annually. Without his non-conference patsies, his conference record was worse than Spike Dykes.

To the AJ: Not that you don't already know it, but anything you post about football is going to have the comment section overrun by the Team Leach people; they paste your articles on their website (mainly their private "Underground" website that isn't viewable by the public) and instruct their followers to come post negative things about the current coach, his players, and Chancellor Hance. Their goal is to create the perception that "everyone" is against Hance and Tuberville, but their group only has 500 people and is shrinking. What plays to their favor is that most people with jobs don't sit around posting in comment sections every time a football article comes up.

Guess your one of those Spike Dykes yuck it up huh types, got my ox in a ditch, shot myself in the foot?

Spike Dykes won most of his conference games in the Southworst Conference. Not even close the power of the Big 12, so saying Leach accompished nothing here is insane! So your the one that has the high school education it appears.

Leach was never paid for 2009, all of 2009. He is owed that money for services.

You want to compare records? Tubbs has a HORRIBLE conference record. What part of 5 wins and 13 losses in BIG 12 play do you not understand??? WORST loss ever in program history and at home no less, 66-6 to Oklahoma State???

Pay Leach what he is owed and let's move on. Then you will see this fan base come together. Get your facts straight on the Leach thing before spewing your venom towards true Tech fans who just want the to do the ethical thing and pay the man what he is owed.

Team Leach, organized by PR man Charlie Hodges according to the AJ. You gotta love a man being paid by a disgrunted ex-employee who forms a group of Tech hatemongers, very few of which even have degrees from Tech or anywhere else, whose mission in life is to sit around posting AJ articles on their silly Facebook site and having their unemployed masses (if you can call 500 a "mass") polluting comment sections trashing our current coaches, players, and chancellor because our former coach did things to get himself fired.

It's a simple formula:
1) AJ posts story about football, Coach Tuberville, or Chancellor Hance's having raised almost $1 Billion in donations for the university.

2) Team Leach posts link to story on their facebook page (which is already hate filled toward Tech's coaches and players).

3) Team Leach instructs their members to come post negative comments about current coaching staff and chancellor. Their mission is to a) create the perception that no one likes Hance, and b) that Tech isn't selling season tickets (when in reality we've sold more tickets since the former coach left than we did when he was here).

4) All these Team Leach members, in all their wisdom, don't even have college degrees or know anything about Tech other than it has a football program.

I'm so sick of Team Leach. Their members actually tried to get in the way of Tech's effort for the Tier One Research Initiative (they were unsuccessful of course), and if you visit their public Facebook page it is full of horrible anti-Tech hate insulting everyone from current coaches to current players to Hance. At one point they even had a thread wishing Baron Batch would "break his leg" during his senior season simply because he said he supported Coach Tuberville.

That group is a hate filled organization of misfits and I really hate that a small group of uneducated people can make West Texas look like a bunch of small-town ignorant hillbillies all because a slightly above average coach got too big for his britches and was fired over allegations of player abuse and insubordination. It's hard to defend people calling West Texans stupid when a group like Team Leach is around.

Your talking points are getting stale. Leach was paid everything due him for 2009. Had he not gotten himself fired, he would have made bonuses due at the end of the year. He was paid his base salary in it's entirety for 2009, but he wasn't due any bonues because his employment ended prior to the end of that year.

Perhaps he should have thought twice about the way he treated players and telling our chancellor to "F" himself when he was approached about how to handle injured players. Had he done so, he would have gotten his bonus and wouldn't have had to beg for jobs for two years until a desperate school took a chance on him. He's already taken it to court and lost twice, the last time by Texas the Supreme Court.

Look, we all know you Team Leach members are going to continue whining for eternity because that's what your Public Relations mission is. But at least change your talking points for pete's sake.

I agree with Dallas Red Raider. I had four season tickets for ten years and cancelled the day Leach was fired. I traveled from out of town for the games and spent alot of money each gameday weekend on hotels, food and tailgating. Hance does not give a damn about Tech or he would have resigned long ago. I know local fans will continue to go to the games and leave at half time when they are losing, but the University has lost tons of money from loyal alumni from out of town that were dedicated. I also quit giving money to the university and the ex students association. I love how the AJ reported last year they had the best season ticket sales ever. All my friends from Lubbock gave up their season tickets in the good seats and bought the cheapos in the new end zone. They never mentioned that in the paper, but they continue to put a spin on how great it all is. Never before did I receive calls from the university reminding me to renew my tickets until after Leach was fired and I even got numerous letters from the alumni association stating they had nothing to do with it and wanted me to send money again. This team is going to have a losing season once again and until the coach is gone as well as Hance, Tech will lose millions from out of town alumni. At least Bailey is gone now. I was mad when Bobby Knight was hired after all his problems, but I kept coming to games, but I agree, pay Leach what is owed and hire a decent coach and the money will flow in again. I am ashamed to call myself a Red Raider as many out of towners are as well, and I know for a fact the wallets have closed.

I am so sick of the pro Leach people...it's over. He's gone. He didn't want to be here, he got himself fired, he's been paid all he is due legally. Get over it. Move on. Don't be such miserably negative people. Leach had a tremendous offense, he was horrible at putting defenses together. His recruiting was bad and we are seeing the results of that now. It's not hard to track. Tuberville has had two great recruiting years (the best probably back to back in Tech's history)...give the man a chance. Be positive and let's back the team, the coaches, and the University. This AJ story is about building up not tearing down, which as human beings, we should be all that and more. Your constant bantering about what happened to Leach is old news and no one cares anymore...I guarantee Mr. Leach has moved on so why can't you?

1 - NO WE'RE NOT GOING TO CLOSE OUR WALLETS TO TECH (The school has raised the lions share of it's $1 Billion since your hero got himself fired. If Team Leach was made up of alums, you'd think Tech wouldn't be breaking fundraising and donation records like it currently is).

2 - TICKET SEASON SALES ARE BETTER NOW THAN THEY WERE WHEN LEACH WAS HERE.

3 - SOME THINGS, LIKE INTEGRITY AND ETHICS ARE MORE IMPORANT THAN FOOTBALL RECORDS; ESPECIALLY WHEN THE GUY FIRED WAS A SELF CENTERED COACH WHO LOST 4 GAMES A YEAR ON AVERAGE AND WAS BARELY ABOVE .500 IN CONFERENCE.

4 - I'M GLAD WE NO LONGER HAVE A COACH WHO HUMILIATES HIS PLAYERS FOR PRAYING. AND NO, REAL RED RAIDERS DON'T WISH BARON BATCH WOULD BREAK HIS LEG SIMPLY BECAUSE HE SUPPORTS OUR CURRENT COACH.

5 - THE LAST THING TECH NEEDS IS NON-DEGREED PEOPLE WHO DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT TECH OTHER THAN THE FOOTBALL PROGRAM TELLING THE SCHOOL WHO TO HIRE AND FIRE. IF YOU CAN'T EVEN HOLD DOWN A JOB AND/OR HAVE A CRIMINAL RECORD OF DRUG ABUSE (yes, thats directed at one of the current Team Leach lead administrators) WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU KNOW WHATS BEST FOR A UNIVERSITY?

6 - THE MAN YOUR PR GROUP IS FUNDED TO SUPPORT WAS FIRED THREE YEARS AGO. GET OVER IT.

Replace the head coach with Sonny Dykes, and get rid of this "Nascar" offense crap. It's not working. Sonny Dykes will restore the "Air Raid", and improve Neal Brown. Don't forget that wins translate into more tickets being sold. So win!

It's time for you to put on the reading glasses. It wasn't the "Hancers" who brought Mike Leach into this discussion. As is almost ALWAYS the case, he was brought up by a member if the pro-Leach contingent. In this case, it was LodoTX.

How insulting it must be to the readers here to see that you think they're not intelligent enough to see that for themselves.

I'm not a Leacher, or whatever you want to call his supporters. My take on that is he was hired to win games and go to bowls. He won games and went to bowls. Duh! His character is somewhat shaded and that's the reason he is gone. Personally, I don't think the powers that be ever intended him to finish the season to start with. How would they have expected the wins that happened? That contract was geared toward firing a coach with a losing season. Oops...the James thing was simply convenient, that's all.

But that's not the reason I posted here. I like TTU football, but I can't afford to go to the games. Plain and simple. The money grabbers are in full force in Tech athletics. It doesn't stop there either. The concessions are horrible. I don't have to elaborate there.

As long as the corporate raiding is done (getting businesses to buy groups of tickets and give them away) and other means of getting people in who would otherwise not be able to attend, the real reason for low attendance will be shrouded. As has been stated already: Win games, make it affordable for the average guy and his family to go. That will fill the seats. I guess I have the wrong take anyway. Football is a rich person's game now, all the way from the lowest level to the multimillion dollar throwing arms of the qb's. Why should I expect these people to care what the po folks want?

Bottom line is, true tech fans will support the team and buy ticket regardless of record. If thats not you, your opinion is rather meaningless. The Athletic department is doing just fine with out you, making more money and receiving more donations.

People care about Texas Tech.

If you care more about Mike Leach than texas tech, thats fine, but noone that actually matters respects your opinion.

If you cant afford to go to the games, that is a YOU problem. Season ticket start a $149, and you can separate the payments. Check the numbers yourself, Tech season tickets are cheap. Have always been cheap. Will likely always be cheap, compared to other schools in the conference.

The Facebook page of supposed Tech graduates who not only can't spell, but resort to personal degradation of anyone who does not support their cause. They do appear to believe that one must have a college degree, from Tech no less, to be a Tech fan or supporter.
If that were true, they'd surely understand that is insulting to those who do not.

Maybe that is why they are delusional. Or they are being paid as well, just not by Leach.

With that said, I don't buy tickets because I no longer can afford them.

Wow...classttu... All caps, really?
TxRed...wow, dont you feel superior? How many "Degrees" do you hold?

First of all...I am not a "Team Leacher", not sure what the hell that is. Second of all, I hold 2 degrees from Texas Tech. BS and a MS. The family has givien thosands of $$ to the University over the last 60 years. Plus I was one of the first members of the old Committee for Champions for which this article was written. How much have some of you bozos given? There would be no Ranching Heritage Center without the families help. I have been to 268 straight home football games. Will that continue, yes. But I am not paying $1,500 A SEAT to watch Tech get beat down by OSU by 60 in our house paying that kind of money. You can get UNM, N Western State and Kansas tickets on Stub Hub currently for $5. West Virginia $37 and even OU for $45.

Debate 1..."Leach lost an average of four games a year"? How much better are we now? A lot worse. 5-13 in conference games, a defense that is so much worse than anything the past has ever had here. Worst defeat in Texas Tech history at home.

Yall talk about integrity and ethics. Both sides have blame here, not just one. Texas Tech owes the former coach for his services...all of 2009. This is what irks me. Where is the integrity. Was there a deal in his contract that if he was fired he wouldn't be paid for the full year? How would you like that if you got shafted like that. How do you think an employee of yours feel?

Some bozo said that season tickets are up due to the last coaching staff being gone...Who do you think increased the interst in Texas Tech football to where people would drive from Austin, Dallas or Houston and shell out thousands of dollars to go to a game. Two things...membership in the BIG 12 and the style of football that was played in the 2000's.That is what did it. Tech NEVER had sellouts for any games except for UT and A&M untill the last coaching staff arrived. You want a link for attendance figures...go to Texas Tech.com and find media guide and then go to year by year seasons. The schedules are there with results and the attendance figures.

And the idiots that are saying the last coaching staff wasn't a very good coach. What the hell had Tech done before Leach? NOTHING much. Oh big whoop, Spike Dykes averaged 6-5 seasons in what was considered one of the worst conferences in the nation after the all scandles hit the SWC in the early to mid 80's.

The last really good coaches to coach at Tech was Jim Carlen (RIP)
and Steve Sloan in the 70's. That was truely the last golden years prior to the run we had in the mid to late 2000's. What happened to those coaches? Jim Carlen left because the administration wouldn't let him become the AD. To much power they said.

Steve Sloan took us to unprecidented heights. Top 10 rankings in 1976 (shared the SWC crown) and 1977. 1977 would have been magical had A&M not had that cheap shot on Rodeny Allison. Why did he leave, cause he just wanted to be paid what he was worth. He went to Mississippi. The admin at Tech took Tech into the tubes which we finally climbed out of in the late 80's.

After Sloan Tech hired them a yes man in Dockery, a young not ready yet for the big time coach Jerry Moore, then the fiasco of McWilliams to medicority of Spike Dykes.

So on to 2012. If can only get better. I am banking on the new recruiting classes to make a huge impact this year or next. I hope so, cause I grow tired of all this as ya'll do as well. My only gripe is for everyone to come together, pay Leach what he is owed and close the book.

Your full of it. Texas Tech attendance CRATERED under Dykes.
The "Uptick" was after we joined the BIG 12.

Where is your link to PROVE your argument about donations were down. Easy to say, now prove it with a link. I believe that Montford was here during the for most of Leach's years and we raised over 600 million for the University under the Capital improvement campain during that time.

You need to ck the attendance figures. How many sellouts did Dykes have other than UT and A&M?

Some of the games with UT and A&M were not even close to sellouts under Dykes. See link here..page 135

Plus all top attended games were in the post Dykes years. Wow...admit it man.

I do agree with the agitating the donars for athletics due to him not going to events and such. That isn't what you said though. Be specific. But I just wanted to win football games. I didn't have to be stroked by the head coach at some yuck it up function with all the hayseeds.